


Death Wish

by ErodiumsMnemic



Series: Sirens in the Distance [1]
Category: PAYDAY (Video Games), RWBY
Genre: Financial Issues, Heist, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-24 05:40:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12006225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErodiumsMnemic/pseuds/ErodiumsMnemic
Summary: Yang finds out that they don't have enough money to send Ruby to Beacon, but she simply cannot let that happen. She  looks for a job that can satisfy the admittance fee to Beacon, and finds one that suits her needs perfectly. It's time for Yang to get her Payday.





	1. Firestarter

“What?” Yang said, confused.

It was past midnight, and she had just received shocking news from her father. They had just begun discussing it, standing around the dining table.

Taiyang sighed. “You heard me,” he said. “We don’t have enough money to send both you _and_ Ruby to Beacon.”

Taiyang sighed again. “Allowed early entrance to Beacon, and yet she still can’t go.” He glanced at his daughter. “And, _no_ , we can’t use your fund to send her to school. I know you want to be a huntress as much as she does.”

Ruby would be crushed when she heard the news. Yang couldn’t let her little sister’s dreams be crushed just because of a lack of money. An idea formed in Yang’s head.

A grin crept onto her face. Taiyang glanced at her, immediately wincing. “You’ve got that look on your face,” he said. “The one that says, ‘I’ve got an idea’.”

“Of course I do,” Yang responded. “What if…” Taiyang groaned. “I took a part-time job somewhere?”

Taiyang took a long breath before exhaling slowly. “Where are you going to find a part-time job that pays well enough to send someone to one of the most prestigious hunter academies in Remnant?”

Yang shrugged. “I could probably find one. I know some people.”

Taiyang closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating letting his daughter go through with her plan. When he opened his eyes, he had come to a decision.

“Fine.” Yang pumped her fist. ”But,” Taiyang continued. “Nothing illegal or dangerous beyond what you’ve learned at school.”

Yang rolled her eyes. “Dad, I go to a school for killing the stuff of _nightmares_. Nothing is even _close_ to being as dangerous as that.”

Taiyang sighed as he pulled his daughter in for a hug. “I know,” he said. “But stay safe, alright, little dragon?” He planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I will, Dad,” she replied, kissing him on the cheek. “G’night, Dad! I love you!”

“Love you too!” he responded.

~~~

The job hunt was more difficult than expected. The newspaper classifieds had nothing of interest. Most jobs were time-consuming, menial work that paid too little for Yang’s intents and purposes. Some nights she went out to stores with ‘help wanted’ signs on them, but found that they paid just as little as the classifieds did.

Running low on options and high on desperation, Yang broke her father’s one condition. She took a breath before walking into Junior’s bar, looking for work.

“B-blondie, sir!” the Junior stuttered out, nearly dropping the glass he was drying. “What are you doing here?”

Yang grinned at the effect her presence still had on the man. “ _Relax_ , Junior,” Yang said. “I’m not here to ruin your bar again. Instead…” She paused. “I’m looking for _work_.”

Junior gave Yang a double-take. “Work?” he questioned. “I thought you were going to that one school for hunters. What happened to that?”

Yang shrugged. “I’m still doing that,” she said. “I just need a little extra cash for a… _friend_ of mine to come with me.”

Junior nodded in understanding. “You need cash quick, huh?” he said. He rubbed his chin for a moment, deep in thought. “Yeah,” he said after a while. “I think I might know some people. Let me just go make a phone call really quick.”

“Sure,” Yang said. “I’ve got all night.”

Junior went into the back room to presumably make the phone call. Yang sat down on one of the barstools, thinking. _I wonder if Junior is going to_ actually _help me, and not screw me over, considering I’ve already trashed his bar once,_ she thought.

 _I wonder who these ‘people’ that he was talking about are. Probably some sort of illegal business. I hope they don’t try and make me a stripper._ She paused in her thoughts. _Or a prostitute._ She shuddered at the thought.

At that moment, Junior came out of the back room with a slip of paper. “They said they would love to meet you,” he said. “Just meet them at this address here.” He slid the paper over to her, then paused. “You don’t mind bending the law a little, do you?”

Yang shook her head. “For my friend, I would be willing to break every law in the book.” She picked up the piece of paper, and stood up. “Thanks, Junior. Tell Melanie and Militia I said ‘hi’.”

Junior nodded at her as she walked out of the bar.

~~~

Yang turned the paper over in her hands, reclining in the living room of her home. She read the address again. The paper had also come with a date and time: that night at midnight. She had already checked out the location, but hadn’t gone in. It was a laundromat called ‘Bodhi’s Dry Cleaning’.

She had done some research on the background of the laundromat. It wasn’t very interesting. She discovered that the building had been purchased a little over a year ago by an anonymous buyer, and many files containing noise complaints from the laundromat. It was also the only laundromat owned by this ‘Bodhi’ person in all of Remnant, meaning it was probably run by ‘Bodhi’ in person.

Yang groaned and dropped the slip onto her chest. _I bet Junior screwed me over,_ she thought. _Just like I thought. Maybe I should trash his bar again._ She shook her head. _He seemed like he knew what he was talking about. Maybe I should visit the place again…_ She looked at the slip of paper again, checking for any potential typos or misspellings.

She sighed. _Time to take out the dirty laundry, I guess,_ she thought as she prepared her things to go out.

~~~

Yang anxiously checked her watch again. It was midnight. She tried the handle on the door again, finding it locked. She growled and grit her teeth. _Fuck you, Junior!_ she thought as she turned and began to walk over to her motorcycle.

She stopped, however, when she heard the laundromat door open, and heard her name called out. “Yang Xiao Long?” The voice had a slight accent that she couldn’t identify, and when she turned around, a man was standing in the doorway.

“Yeah?” Yang responded.

“You here for the job?” he asked. Yang nodded. The man stepped back, holding the door open for her. “Come in.”

Yang walked in, then paused. “What’s your name?” she asked.

The man’s eyes flicked back and forth nervously. “Uh…” he muttered. “You can call me Houston.”

“Houston, huh?” Yang said. “So, what exactly is this job?”

He gave her a suspicious look. “You’ll see,” he replied.

Yang shrugged and followed him to the back of the laundromat.

The back room was cluttered with boxes, and four men wearing clown masks were sitting on couches next to a small table. Yang turned to Houston, only to see that he had also put on a clown mask.

Yang smirked. “Did Junior put you up to this?” she asked. “To ‘teach me a lesson’ for trashing his bar.” The men looked at each other, the one with a half red mask shrugging.

The man wearing the red-and-white striped mask looked at her for a moment. “You came here for a job, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yang replied.

“You don’t mind breaking a few laws, right? Junior said you needed some quick cash.”

Yang shook her head. “I really need that cash for someone I know.” She paused. “ _But_ , I do have a few… standards. I’m fine with mostly anything, as long as you aren’t whoring me out or something like that.”

 The man wearing a mask that looked like a twisted version of Houston’s gave out a laugh. “If we were going to do that,” he said in another thick accent that Yang didn’t recognize. “We would’ve kidnapped you. Besides, Junior only told us you were a hunter-in-training. Hear that? _Hunter_. Didn’t specify you were a girl.”

The man in the striped mask cleared his throat. “Before we continue, let’s introduce ourselves. You can call me Dallas.” He nodded towards Houston. “You’ve already met Houston, my younger brother.” Yang nodded. Dallas listed off the other members as he gestured to them.

“Chains.”

“Wolf.”

“Hoxton.” The last man glared at Houston.

“Damn right _I’m_ Hoxton…” Hoxton muttered under his breath.

“Anyways,” Dallas said as he stood up. He held out his hand for Yang to shake. “Welcome to the crew.”

Yang took his hand and shook it. “That’s it?” she asked, suspiciously. “No… ‘test’ or anything?”

“Trust me,” Dallas said with a chuckle. “The ‘test’ is working with us.”

Dallas walked over to a statue of a blindfolded woman holding a scale (her right arm was missing), and placed a small bundle of cash onto one of the sides of the scale.

To the left of the statue, a panel opened up in the floor, revealing a hidden staircase. Yang raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Dallas. “A precaution,” he simply responded.

When they all were in the basement, Yang looked around to see that it looked similar to a subway station. Rather, the end of one. Wolf opened up a power box to reveal a high-tech looking keypad, and typed in a code.

The six of them stood in silence, as if waiting for something. “So…” Yang said. “What exactly is the job?”

“Well…” Dallas said, trying to come up with a professional-sounding way of describing their profession. “We do… financial transfers.”

Yang snorted. “That doesn’t sound very illegal to me.”

“That’s ‘cause he didn’t describe us properly,” Wolf said cheerfully. “We’re heisters!”

Dallas sighed. “Wait,” Yang said, thinking for a moment. “Like, bank robbers? Seriously?”

“You said you needed money, right?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah,” Yang said. “I just don’t want to have to kill anyone.”

Dallas nodded. “We try not to let it come to that.” He glanced at Wolf. “…most of us.”

A rumbling noise coming from the tunnel suddenly made itself apparent, getting louder and louder. Eventually, a small subway car made its way towards them. The door opened, and they stepped inside. The car then began to drive across the tracks.

“Where does this take us?” Yang asked.

“The _real_ safehouse,” Hoxton said. “You think we’d settle for that shithole laundromat?” He shook his head.

The rest of the ride was filled with Yang asking questions about the Payday Gang, and they answered as truthfully as they could. As they neared their destination, Yang asked one more question.

“If there’s only four of you, how have you successfully robbed so many places?” She paused. “And how come there’s nothing about you guys on the news?”

“For your first question,” Dallas said. “It’s not _just_ the four of us. You’ll be able to meet everyone when we get off.”

“And for your second question, Miss Xiao Long,” A voice crackled over the speakers in the train. “A lot of crazy shit went down recently. It’s a long story, and all you need to know is that we’re not actually from this… _dimension_.”

Yang was confused. And interested. “Who’s that? And a different _dimension_?” she asked.

“That,” Hoxton said. “Would be Bain. He’s the one responsible for us being where we are. He finds contracts for us, and has loads of connections. A lil’ bossy though.” He then muttered something about a ‘thermal drill’.

“That’s right,” Bain said over the speakers. “I’ll be the one supplying you on ‘missions’. You’re in good hands. And, like I said, it’s a _long_ story.”

The door of the car opened, and they stepped out. They walked up a flight of stairs, and opened a trapdoor into a garage.

“The hell’s all this?” a female voice said. Yang turned to see the speaker: a woman with a blue mohawk and many tattoos working on what looked to be clown masks, similar to the ones the four men were wearing.

“This is the new recruit, Sydney,” Dallas said. ‘Sydney’ looked Yang up and down.

“I can work with this,” she said after a few moments’ deliberation. “Got a codename yet?”

“What?” Yang asked.

“Like, ‘Dallas’, ‘Hoxton’, ‘Jacket’, ‘Scarface’, whatever,” Sydney said. “We all use one on heists. Well, everyone except John. He’s already built up a fierce reputation with the local police.”

“I…” Yang trailed off. “I hadn’t thought I needed one. I’ll get back to you on that one.”

Sydney nodded, and Dallas spoke. “I think it’s time for us to introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

~~~

The Payday Crew assembled in the living room, and were introduced by Dallas. After that, Yang was left to get to know her new coworkers, and talked to them about their ‘job’. After a couple hours, most of the heisters had left, except for Jacket, who was sitting on the couch; Jimmy, who was passed out on the couch; and John Wick, who was sitting on one of the chairs, analyzing Yang.

“Why’d you do it?” asked Wick. “Join the Crew?”

Yang thought for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. She decided to, since John seemed to be the most trustworthy out of everyone, Jacket never spoke, and Jimmy was too high to be able to listen.

“I’m doing this for someone close to me,” Yang said, not wanting to reveal _everything_. “They need the money, so I’m getting it for them.”

Wick nodded. “I know what that’s like,” he said. “Having someone you’d do anything for.” He shook his head. “Cherish the time you have with them.”

Yang gave a small smile. “I’ll remember that.”

At that moment, Sydney burst into the room. “Yang! C’mere, would ya?” she shouted. Jimmy jolted awake, before mumbling something and passing out again.

“Sure,” Yang said, walking over. “What is it?”

Whatever it was had gotten the Anarchist _very_ excited. “Close your eyes!” she said, barely containing her excitement. Yang complied, and let herself be led to their destination.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now!” Yang opened her eyes to see Sydney holding a white, demonic-looking mask with black and yellow designs on it.

Yang’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa?” she exclaimed. “Did you make that?”

Sydney beamed. “Yep!” she said cheerfully. She held up the mask proudly. “And it’s all yours, Goldilocks!”

Yang took the mask and cocked an eyebrow. “‘Goldilocks’?” Yang questioned. Sydney shrugged.

“You needed a heister name!” she insisted. Yang rolled her eyes.

“I’d rather not be named after a fairytale,” she said. Sydney pouted. “Besides, it’s a little long. I’d be fine with ‘Goldie’ instead, though.”

Sydney nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s a good name for you.” She grinned. “I’m excited to see you out on the field, then, ‘Goldie’!”

Yang smiled. She was going to get Ruby into Beacon.

~~~

When she got home, Yang went straight for her bed, sliding the mask underneath it, then collapsing on top of it. She heard the door open.

“Yang?” Her father walked into the room. “Where were you? I was worried.”

Yang sat up and smiled. “I found a job!” she said, excitedly.

Taiyang’s eyebrows rose. “Really?” he said.

“Yep! And I can get Ruby into Beacon! I start tomorrow.”

Taiyang smiled, and sat down next to Yang. “I knew you could do it.” He pulled her into an embrace.

“I’m so proud of you!” Taiyang said as they broke apart.

“Thanks, Dad,” Yang said. Taiyang put a hand on her shoulder.

“Get some sleep,” he said. “I’m sure they don’t want you sleeping on the job tomorrow.”

“I wouldn’t _dream_ of it!” Yang said. Her dad chuckled.

Yang went and got herself ready for bed. It was 4 a.m., but she needed to be ready by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow _and_ get a decent amount of sleep. As she lay down on her bed, she smiled to herself. Tomorrow was her _payday_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang’s mask looks similar to this:  
> http://pd2tools.com/m/oni/plastic/beast/black-bright-yellow


	2. Meltdown

Chains led Yang into a room, filled with assorted weaponry. Yang whistled. _Ruby would love this place,_ she thought.

“So,” Chains said. “This’ll be the place where you prep for a job. Take anything you’d like, as long as you can carry it and conceal it.”

Yang raised an eyebrow. “‘Conceal’ it?” she asked, gesturing to a rocket launcher mounted on the wall. Chains shrugged.

“We can teach you a couple techniques,” he said. “Though, your first heist today is planned to be a loud one, considering what we’ve heard about you.”

Yang’s eyebrow stayed raised. “What exactly have you heard about me?” she asked suspiciously. She knew these were criminals, but she wanted to know how much _exactly_ they knew about her.

Chains thought for a moment. “We got some copies of your transcripts,” he said. “As well as footage from Signal of your fights.”

Yang looked at him. “What?” he asked. “Bain’s _very_ good at finding info.

Yang rolled her eyes. “You said _any_ weapon, right?” she asked.

Chains nodded. “Your weapons are too unique,” he said. “They’d attract attention.”

Yang nodded. “Where are the shotguns?” she asked.

Chains gestured towards one of the racks. Yang stepped over to it, and scanned the rack, her eyes falling onto what looked like a revolver. She picked it up and inspected it. “Uh, Chains?” she said. “Isn’t this rack for shotguns?”

“Yep,” he replied. “That there, is the _Judge_.”

She popped out the cylinder, counting the five chambers for each shell. She threw the cylinder back into place, and held it a little bit longer, savoring the feeling of the gun.

“I think I’ll take it,” she said after a few moments of deliberation. “Though, it looks a little boring…”

“Come here,” Chains said, walking towards a large, chest-like device. “Put the gun in there.” Yang complied.

“Now close the lid, and pick your favorite from the screen.” Chains gestured towards the screen. Yang followed his directions, and scrolled through the different looking variants of the gun. She eventually settled on one called ‘Anarcho’.

“Now, open the case,” Chains instructed. Yang opened the case, to find the Judge now looked exactly like the ‘Anarcho’.

Yang’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Badass.” She smiled, with an awed look in her eyes.

“I knew you’d like the skins,” Chains said. “Now, you just need two more weapons.”

Yang rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I _am_ a weapon. This should be all I need.”

Chains sighed. “Sorry, but everyone else would probably be more comfortable knowing you have more weapons to defend yourself with, even _with_ your huntress training.”

Yang sighed overdramatically. “ _Fine_ …” she drawled. “So, two more guns?”

“One more gun,” Chains corrected. He gestured to a rack labeled ‘melee’. “You’ll also need one of these. No skins though, unfortunately.”

“I can use my fists,” Yang suggested.

“That’s an option,” Chains replied. “But I _do_ recommend these.” He pulled a pair of brass knuckles off of the wall, and handed them to Yang.

Yang grabbed them, and fit them over her fingers. She grinned. “I like these,” she commented. “I think I’ll use ‘em.”

“Last gun,” Chains said, gesturing around the room.

Yang looked around, nothing really catching her eye until- “Is that what I think it is?” Yang asked.

Chains followed her gaze. “Yeah.”

“Can I?”

“Yup.”

“ _Hell_ yes.” She grinned maniacally as she unmounted the weapon from the rack. She brought it over to the skin machine and placed it in. She nearly fainted when she saw the skins. She picked the one she liked the most, and opened the case.

Chains walked over, and looked into the case. “Nice choice,” he commented as they looked down at it.

~~~

Yang, Dallas, Sydney, and Wick stood around the planning table, looking at the blueprints of Remnant’s First World Bank.

“ _Fu-uck,_ ” Yang said, adjusting her mask. “These are a lot more complicated than I thought. Way more back rooms than I expected.”

Dallas nodded. “Most heisters get overwhelmed when they see their first heist,” he said.

Sydney chuckled. “Not me, though,” she added in. Dallas sighed.

“That’s because you inducted yourself and joined us _in the middle of a heist,_ ” Dallas said.

“Really?” Yang said, impressed. Sydney nodded smugly.

“ _Anyways_ , as I was saying,” Dallas said, clearing his throat. “Most heisters get overwhelmed. But don’t worry, we’re starting off tough. The rest of your heists shouldn’t be this bad.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Yang put her hands up defensively. “I’m only here for this one heist. Just enough to get my friend into school.” The other heisters looked at her blankly.

“Wait,” Sydney said. “So you’re saying… you quit after your _first_ heist.”

Yang shrugged, before nodding. “I’m only here ‘cause I’m tight on cash.”

“Sorry, Goldie,” Bain said over the speakers.

“Is he everywhere?” Yang whispered to Sydney. Sydney shrugged.

“We can’t just let you leave now that you know about us,” Bain said.

Yang sighed. “Are you going to kill me?”

“What?” Bain said, sounding legitimately surprised. “No! Of course not. We’re just going to have to monitor you until the day that you die, ensuring you don’t blab.”

Yang sighed in relief. She had been worried for a moment. “What if I do blab?”

“ _Then_ we kill you,” Bain responded simply.

“I’ll be sure not to blab, then,” Yang said warily.

“Now, if that’s over-with,” Dallas said. “We need to actually plan for the heist.”

He gestured towards the blueprints. “Bain has secured us these blueprints for the bank,” he stated. “We’ll be going in loud, so don’t worry about concealing your weapons.” He looked at Yang knowingly. “We’ll come in the front entrance, and make sure all civilians are out of the line of fire, and all guards are down. Then, we’ll have Goldie give out the usual speech.” Yang blinked.

“Me?” she asked incredulously. “Why me?”

“Well,” Dallas said. “Mainly because you seem like you could intimidate people the most, considering your unlocked aura, and the fact that you _literally catch on fire_.”

Yang considered this for a moment. She then realized something. “Wait. I’m a huntress,” she began. “And I’m about to go to Beacon.”

The others looked at her, expecting her to go on. “So?” Wick said. Yang had forgotten he was there.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my hair isn’t exactly _subtle_.” She thought for a moment. “Do you guys have temporary hair dye or something?”

“We do,” Dallas said. “And, before I forget…” he handed her a small notecard.

“What’s this?” Yang asked.

“Little points you need to remember for your speech,” Dallas responded. Yang skimmed the points. “You should practice a bit before we go,” Dallas said.

“Anyways,” he continued. “After the speech, we need to locate the manager, and obtain his keycard, so that we can get to the room holding some supplies that we had planted. Then we need to…”

~~~

The four were piled into the back of a van. “Remember the plan,” Dallas said. “We go in loud, get the supplies, crack the vault, and take home the gold.”

Yang took a deep breath as they masked up. She made sure her Judge was loaded, and that her other weapon was on her back. She made sure the doctor bag she was carrying was properly shut, and that she had plenty of first aid kits. She was nervous, obviously, as she had been in any venture in her life.

But this was the first time the venture was outright _illegal_.

They opened the doors of the van and ran into the bank. Yang was worried that the dye in her hair might come off during the heist, or that it would damage her hair, but, thankfully, Wolf had made sure to get one that was high quality. Yang wondered how he knew so much about hair dye, considering Wolf had none.

They kicked open the doors, and began screaming at the people inside. “Get _down_!” Yang roared at the tellers, them quickly following her instructions. Yang stood up on top of the counter, and waited until all of the civilians were quiet, and the guards taken out.

“Listen up!” she shouted. “If you couldn’t tell, this is a _robbery_!” She mentally reviewed the next few points. “We don’t want to hurt anyone! We’re here to take the _bank’s_ money, not yours! Your money is insured by Vale! You won’t lose any fucking lien _whatsoever_! So stay down, stay calm, and this will be over soon!” She took a deep breath as she stepped down from the table. Sydney came over and gave her a pat on the back.

“Not bad.” Yang could hear the grin in Sydney’s voice. “Did pretty well, in my opinion.”

“Thanks,” Yang replied.

“Anytime,” Sydney said as she walked over to Dallas. The two walked through a hallway into a back room, leaving Yang and Wick to watch over the civilians. Yang eyed the people suspiciously. She walked over to Wick.

“So,” she whispered. “Is it always like this? Just watching hostages?”

Wick shrugged. “Usually,” he whispered back. “By doing this, we keep the cops off of our asses. We just have to keep them from calling the police.”

Yang gave him a quizzical look. “You tied them up, right?”

Wick nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced at the hostages. “However, we usually don’t have enough, so we shout at the ones without ties to stay down.”

Yang glanced at the hostages. She noticed a man trying to sneak away. “Hey!” she shouted. “Don’t fucking move, or I’ll blow your head off!” She aimed the Judge threateningly in his direction. The man froze, and began to scooch back towards the group.

“So basically,” Yang whispered to Wick. “We’re babysitters.”

Wick nodded. “That’s the idea.” Yang sighed.

“Well, at least it’s good money,” she muttered.

The heist was boring, for the most part. At least, until the alarm went off.

“Shit!” Wick muttered under his breath. “Alright, everyone,” he said. “Don’t panic, and stay still.”

“Wick,” Yang said. “What happened?”

Wick shrugged. “Hell if I know. Ask Dallas.”

“Dallas!” Yang muttered into the radio.

“Bad news, Goldie,” came Dallas’ voice. “Or, good news, depending how you’re looking at it. Either way, the police will be showing up at any moment.” Yang grinned.

“Finally, some action!” she said enthusiastically.

“Hey, Wick?” she asked. “Do you mind keeping the hostages down?”

He shrugged. “No problem, Goldie.”

Yang ran to the doors, awaiting the police’s arrival. When the police vehicles pulled up, she felt tightness in her chest. She was doing what she loved: fighting. However, unlike her previous opponents, these cops wouldn’t be going home.

The moment the first car door opened, Yang kicked open the entrance and fired at the officer. The shot resonated through the air for a moment as the officer who had stepped out of the car flew backwards, instantly riddled with holes.

For a moment, everything was still.

Until the cops opened fire on Yang. Her aura took the damage, increasing Yang’s strength as she began to run towards the police, firing the Judge at them. She had been told to conserve ammunition for her primary, as there were ‘special’ forces she should be using them on.

After firing a shot into another officer, turning him into a bloody mess, Yang ran out of ammunition. Swiftly, she put the Judge away, and pulled out her pair of brass knuckles. She ran towards the nearest cop, punching straight through his chest. She opened her hand and grabbed, ripping out the man’s heart.

She turned and grabbed the nearest cop, and beat another cop to death with her. She turned to see more police aiming their weapons towards her. She grinned under her mask. Her adrenaline spiked, and she nearly laughed in glee at the idea of more opponents.

She ran towards them, and tackled the nearest cop, knocking him down. She spun, slamming her fist into the side of another officer’s face, pulverizing it into a small explosion of gore. As she continued to tear through police officers, she began to think.

Yang knew this was wrong. She was killing men and women who only wanted to serve and protect Vale. But she also knew that she was doing this for Ruby.

_Ruby…_

What would her baby sister say if she could see Yang now? Would she be horrified at what Yang had done? _Afraid_ of Yang? As she killed the last cop, her adrenaline began to wear off, and her actions began to sink in.

However, she heard whimpering from the other side of one of the cars. She walked over to find another cop, in a fetal position, eyes shut tight. The cops were _human beings_ who wanted to protect others. _Just like me…_ Yang thought.

“Stay down!” Yang roared at the man. The man whimpered again. “Cuff yourself!” The man shakily complied. “The next time the police come,” Yang said. “You’re going to fight them, understand?” The man looked up at her in horror.

“N-no!” the man said. “I w-won’t!”

Yang growled. “You _will_ , or I will smash your head into the _fucking pavement_!” The man’s eyes widened, and he nodded quickly.

“W-whatever you say!” The man looked around at his fallen squadmates. “Just, please! D-don’t hurt me!”

Yang stood up. “That’s what I thought. Good boy.”

Yang turned to see Wick, Dallas, and Sydney staring at her. Sydney began to clap. “That was fuckin’ _brutal_!” Sydney shouted gleefully.

“Not too bad,” Dallas said. “A little _messy_ , though.”

Yang shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

“Come on,” Wick said urgently. “Let’s start getting bags to the van.”

They began to haul bags of money slowly from the vault over to the van, tossing them into the back. They tried to get as much as possible in, as they knew that it wouldn’t be long until the next wave of police would arrive.

And they made quite an entrance.

A SWAT van swerved, rotating so that the rear doors faced the heisters. The doors were kicked open, to reveal a large man in heavy armor, wearing a faceplate with a skull painted on it.

“Please, stay alive a little bit longer!” the man shouted. “So I can kill you myself!"

“Shit!” Dallas said.

“What?” Yang questioned.

“It’s a skulldozer,” he replied. “We got these back home, too.”

“Not a good thing, then?”

“Not at all.”

The man charged at Dallas, screaming at the top of his lungs. “You’re up against the wall! And I am the _fucking wall_!”

Sydney sighed as Dallas got tackled. “They even say the same damn things,” she muttered.

Suddenly, Sydney disappeared, and Yang was stunned by the sudden appearance of green light emitting from a set of night-vision goggles, accompanied by what sounded like “The safe-word is ‘police brutality’!”. _Wait, isn’t it stupid to be wearing_ night-vision _goggles during the day?_ Yang thought. _Whatever. He won’t be seeing anything anytime soon._ She wondered if these were the ‘special’ units the other heisters had mentioned.

"What's left if you beat the shit out of a piece of shit?" the man shouted as he began to kick Sydney, who was lying on the ground. Until Yang’s fist shattered his night-vision goggles. Yang began to repeatedly bash the man’s head into the sidewalk, until he ceased all movement.

Yang turned to Sydney and yelled, “Get the fuck up!”

It was amazing to Yang how those four words held so much power, as she watched Sydney begin to stand up. “Thanks,” Sydney said. “Saved my ass. I owe you one.”

“No problem,” Yang replied. She turned to see the Dozer standing over Dallas’ prone body.

“And _stay down_ , dirtbag!” the Dozer shouted at Dallas.

Sydney moved to attack, but was stopped by Yang’s arm. “I got this,” Yang said, glancing at Sydney. Sydney nodded and backed up.

“Hey, dump-truck!” she shouted at the Dozer. He turned to face her. “I’m about to dump your contents _all over_ the damn street!”

“Do you even know how _fucked_ you are!?" the Dozer asked, laughing. “Say your prayers.”

In the blink of an eye, Yang had dashed over to the Dozer and punched him into the wall. The Dozer chuckled as he climbed out of the hole. “Impressive,” he said. “But _futile_!” He charged Yang, tackling her to the ground.

Yang kicked him off, and pulled out her primary weapon.

It had two cylindrical tanks; one in the stock, and one directly below that. There was a foregrip underneath the barrel, which Yang clutched tightly. On the main grip was a large trigger, which Yang placed two fingers on. On the nozzle was the head of a golden dragon.

Suddenly, a group of SWAT with shields ran between Yang and the Dozer. The Dozer barked out a laugh. “Do you see?” he shouted. “Even if you kill me, everyone else will kill _you_!”

Yang grit her teeth. She pulled the trigger and unleashed a burst of flames at the shields. The dozer gave a booming laugh. Yang growled as she jumped over the line of shields, before torching them from behind. She grinned as she watched them drop their shields and run around, attempting to extinguish the flames. She put away the flamethrower and cracked her knuckles, slipping on the brass knuckles.

“I’ll fuck you up!” the Dozer shouted, as he charged Yang. Yang charged back, and punched the Dozer in the stomach. The dozer stumbled back, and lifted his LMG, firing at Yang. The impact from the bullets only made Yang stronger. This was made obvious when Yang’s hair caught fire, the black dye slightly burning off, making only the tips blonde.

The Dozer froze. “I am _screwed_.”

Yang punched the Dozer back into the hole, deepening it, before charging into it, pummeling the dozer. Eventually, she ripped the Dozer out of the wall, and threw him onto the pavement. The Dozer attempted to crawl away, his faceplate and helmet cracked open, letting Yang see the fear in his eyes.

Yang slowly walked towards the Dozer. In a last-ditch attempt, the Dozer grabbed Yang by the hair, and yanked her down, attempting to punch her. Unfortunately, this only resulted in him pulling out some of Yang’s hair.

When Yang noticed what was in the Dozer’s hand, she roared at him, making his eyes widen in fear. “Holy shit!” were the Dozer’s last words as Yang laid into him unrelentingly, her hair still blazing.

After roughly ten minutes of continuous punching, Yang slowed down, and began to breathe heavily. Under the mask, her eyes had reverted back to lilac. She stood up shakily and looked up to see the other heisters had already taken out the rest of the SWAT.

“Come on!” Wick said, grabbing Yang by the arm. Yang was in a daze as she was dragged into the van.

~~~

“Nice work out there,” Wick said to Yang as they stepped out of the van and into the safehouse.

Yang gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.”

“It’s a shame you won’t be joining us on future contracts,” Dallas said.

Yang shrugged. “I mean, this _should_ be enough for me, right?”

Dallas nodded, taking off his mask. He tossed her one of the bags. She caught it and glanced at Dallas. He nodded at her. She took off her mask and tried handing it to Sydney. “I won’t need this anymore.”

Sydney, however, refused to take it. “Nah, Goldie. It’s yours. Keep it as a souvenir.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Yang smiled. “Thanks, Sydney.”

“No problem,” Sydney replied. “Don’t forget about us, alright?”

Yang chuckled. “You guys’ll probably hit the news soon,” she said. “And besides, I doubt I’d ever forget a group of such… memorable people. Tell the crew I said thanks, alright?”

Wick placed a hand on Yang’s back. “Of course.”

“Thanks, you guys.” Yang smiled as she went towards the area with the hidden subway car.

“And one more thing,” Dallas said. Yang turned. Dallas held out to her what looked like an average bank card. Yang looked at him curiously. “This is for an offshore Atlesian bank account,” he explained. He gestured towards the bag Yang was holding. “That’s only twenty percent of what we paid you. The other eighty is in the offshore account.” Yang went slack-jawed.

“Seriously?” Yang said, closing her mouth.

“Seriously.” Dallas said with a grin.

She quickly hugged Dallas and took the card. “Thanks!”

Yang walked into the subway car, and sat down on one of the seats.

“It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Xiao Long,” came the familiar voice of Bain over the loudspeaker.

Yang smiled. “Thanks, Bain,” she said. “And thanks for everything.”

Yang spent the rest of the trip in silence, realizing that, despite only briefly meeting them, she would miss the Payday Crew.

~~~

Yang arrived home late that afternoon. She walked into the dining room, finding her father looking over various documents. He looked up as she entered. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” Yang replied.

“How’d it go?” Taiyang asked.

“Well, I told them about the situation…” Yang said.

“And?” Taiyang pushed.

Yang grinned. She picked up the bag of cash, and placed it on the table. She had been careful to hide her mask on the side pocket on the side opposite Taiyang. Her father’s eyes widened as she unzipped the bag.

“Yang…” he said, bewildered. “Where did you find this job!?”

Yang shrugged. “I found a private company in need of someone with combat expertise.”

Taiyang shook his head, impressed. “And they were generous enough to give you this to pay for Ruby’s tuition?”

Yang nodded. “Yep!” she said, popping the ‘p’. Her father pulled her into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you.” He sighed. “You’re growing up so fast, little dragon.”

Yang smiled, and hugged him back. Taiyang planted a kiss on her forehead.

_Ruby was going to Beacon._

~~~

A couple weeks later, the night before Yang and Ruby left for Beacon, Yang had woken up in the middle of the night to hear a tapping noise on her window. She had checked to ensure Ruby was fast asleep, and turned to the window. A large package sat on the windowsill. She opened the window and grabbed it, before closing the window again.

She quietly opened the box to find the Judge sitting in the box, as well as her flamethrower and brass knuckles. She found a note and picked it up. She smiled as she read it.

_In case you change your mind._

_-Bain_

Yang dropped the letter back into the box. _I might take them up on that offer…_ she thought. She frowned. _No,_ she thought. _I can’t do that again. I killed so many innocent people…_

Yang still had nightmares about it. Sometimes, she dreamt that the police would come, and the Dozer she had killed would come back, and defeat her. Other times, she would dream that Ruby had seen her kill all of those people.

Yang sighed as she put the box down on the ground. She reached under her bed and grabbed her mask, placing it securely into the box. She closed the box and slid it under her bed. She would decide what to do with it.

~~~

The next day, Ruby and Yang were on an airship.

“I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me!” Yang said enthusiastically, choking Ruby in a hug. “This is the best day ever!”

“Please stop,” Ruby said, struggling for air.

“But I’m so proud of you!” Yang said, releasing her sister.

In a place far from the flying airships, things were not quite as cheerful. The police chief sat at his desk, analyzing case files. Suddenly, someone knocked on his door. “Come in!” he barked.

The door opened to reveal a forensic analyst. “The results have just come in from the sample, sir,” the analyst stated.

“And?” the detective asked.

“We have information on one of the ‘Payday Gang’,” the analyst said. “The hairs belong to a huntress named Yang Xiao Long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: This story is complete. That being said, I won't leave you hanging. I'll post a sequel hopefully soon (procrastination and school are not a good combination) that focuses more on their time at Beacon.


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